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Chapter 25………………………………..
Status: ???, faint pain in the heart
Cedric walked in silence. It didn’t seem like he intended to take a stroll through the garden—more like he just wanted to get some fresh air. Perhaps his condition wasn’t great.
He clearly knew that I had eased his pain the last time.
And yet, he still hadn’t once asked me to treat his illness or remake the medicine I had given him back then.
Even now, it was the same.
If he was walking around unable to sleep like this, he couldn’t possibly be symptom-free.
“Why don’t you ever ask anything of me?”
Cedric replied calmly.
“I can’t very well demand things from someone who isn’t even an official physician yet, can I?”
“…How old-fashioned.”
I kicked a pebble at my feet. It flew far and disappeared somewhere in the garden.
“….”
“Why are you looking at me like that? Never seen someone kick a rock before?”
“No. I just thought of something for a moment.”
He rubbed his forehead lightly.
“Come to think of it, you were a bit hurt there last time, weren’t you? Let me see. Has your head healed?”
“Could you say forehead? And ‘has your head healed’ doesn’t sound very nice.”
“Oh my. Do you feel guilty about something?”
Cedric bent slightly to make it easier to check the wound. Even so, the height difference was significant, so I had to stand on my tiptoes and cling to his shoulder.
I could hear him laughing.
“Don’t laugh. I’ll get attached.”
“Oh dear, that would be troublesome.”
“You’re annoying.”
A very faint scar remained on his forehead. So faint that you wouldn’t notice it unless you looked closely.
If he had just stayed obediently in the hut, I could’ve treated him properly so he wouldn’t be scarred. It was such a waste that that face had even a mark on it.
I brushed the scar lightly. It was already fully healed—nothing more to treat. Truly unfortunate.
“Is it done?”
“Yes. Whoever treated you did a perfect job. If they’d continued just a little more, there wouldn’t even be a scar.”
“That’s enough. The fact that there is a scar lets me hold onto the possibility that I wasn’t going mad or dreaming.”
He smiled faintly and adjusted his bangs again. Each time he smiled, the beauty mark near his eye seemed to twitch, capturing attention.
I was glad it was night. If I saw that clearly under daylight, I might have fallen for it.
“Well, that’s good then. Anyway, what do you think? My medicine was something else, right?”
“Medicine… haha.”
“What’s so funny?”
Cedric waved it off as if it was nothing, which only annoyed me more.
“Hey!”
“It’s true. The medicine… yes. It wasn’t bad.”
“There you go. I don’t understand why that old man hates something so good.”
Our footsteps and my grumbling echoed through the empty garden.
Cedric slowly stroked his chin.
“Tinte…”
“You know him?”
“Wouldn’t I? Tinte and I have known each other for over twenty years.”
“So why is that old man like that?”
Cedric repeated my words, chuckling again. He laughed more easily than I expected.
His low laughter resonated in my ears—a voice suited to the night.
No, honestly, it was a good voice at any time. I ended up smiling along with him.
Cedric slowly composed himself, though a faint smile still lingered.
“Probably because he’s been hurt a lot. By people like you, whose identities he doesn’t know.”
“That’s—”
I tried to respond, but stopped. His gaze suddenly felt sharp.
Cedric turned toward me and bent slightly.
“You’re objectively quite suspicious.”
That felt unfair. He was the one who called me here.
“You healed me when I collapsed in that forest.”
That part was pure coincidence. I didn’t go to him—he came to me.
I frowned and raised a hand to protest, but Cedric was faster.
“That alone could be coincidence. But at the same time you came to this country, someone set fire to Rueta Village, and you treated them with potions and earned their goodwill.”
“That’s coincidence too.”
“No. I don’t think it is.”
“Then what is it?”
My voice lowered without me realizing. Being suspected never felt pleasant.
“Who knows. Maybe it’s fate.”
My emotions drained away instantly.
“Are you a believer in fate?”
“Not exactly.”
He chuckled again.
“The only coincidence between us might be that I happened to collapse right in front of your hideout that day.”
“That’s not a hideout.”
I muttered, but he ignored me.
That was my house, you know.
“Maybe God took pity on me, or maybe our paths simply crossed—but still.”
“So what? Your Grace trusts me?”
“I called you here and hired you.”
“So I trust you to a reasonable degree.”
He lightly placed a hand on my shoulder.
It wasn’t strong enough to restrain me, but strangely, I felt like I couldn’t pull away.
He spoke slowly.
“But Tinte and Harun will think differently. Those two have very high walls around their hearts.”
“Harun doesn’t seem like that.”
Harun had seemed unusually cheerful lately, especially when acting as an assistant during exam supervision.
To me, he seemed like someone who would adapt well even if he were born in my previous world.
Something like… a professor’s overworked assistant number one. Just like me.
Memories of my research lab suffering, though blurred, remained painfully clear.
Professor. I’m sending you today’s small curse, postage due. Please accept it and enjoy the misfortune of sudden acid rain on laundry day.
While I was thinking that, Cedric continued.
“That’s his strength.”
I see. Then maybe everything Harun showed me wasn’t sincere either.
Strangely, I didn’t feel disappointed.
It was obvious. He worked closely under the Duke—if he were soft-hearted, that would be stranger. Just like Vanetta, who once served and loved Leonhardt.
Cedric continued evenly.
“The fact that you can treat patients, that you can make and use potions no one uses anymore, and that you happen to be from another country…”
His voice remained calm, almost conversational.
“Those are all reasons to be suspicious.”
He straightened up and stepped back from my shoulder, as if to show no threat was intended.
“It can’t be helped. We’ve always been short-handed. How many times do you think they’ve hired people who then tried to kill or betray me?”
“Probably countless times.”
“I’m glad you understand. Tinte is just someone with such circumstances. A tired old man.”
I nodded.
“Well, I understand the situation. It can’t be helped. I’ll just have to work hard so everyone can trust me completely.”
“That’s a positive attitude.”
“If I didn’t have that, I’d be nothing.”
I had to survive.
In the kingdom, I was often called cynical, but years of living alone in isolation had inevitably changed me.
Or rather, this wasn’t my real personality—it was just survival.
Even here, I would struggle and survive. Absolutely.
I lifted the corners of my mouth.
Cedric watched me quietly, then smiled back.
“Still, Rita. I hope you remember that I do trust you quite a bit. I’m truly glad you came here.”
“Why?”
“If you came with goodwill, I should simply be grateful. And even if you didn’t—”
